The Giver By Lois Lowry: An Analysis

Unacquainted. The feeling of only knowing what you have been told. Lois Lowry’s novel, The Giver magnifies the idea of a utopian society, and how it works but also how it can break down. It is the story of a young boy who makes life changing decisions through his magnificent, heroic journey. Lowry argues that to truly live, we must experience pain and joy because it is what defines us. One event that Jonas feels extreme pain is when he is given the memory of war. Jonas see that the Giver is in pain and offers to help relieve some of it. The Giver is overwhelmed and agrees. “Overwhelmed by pain, he lay in the fearsome stench for hours, listened to the men and animal die, and learned what warfare meant,” (Lowry 120). This is the first time Jonas has ever seen, or experienced war. He is overcome with fear and at one point does not want to do anything more with the Giver. But, the memory makes Jonas stronger and now can understand the meaning of peace and joy. Thus, Lowry proves pain is needed to define us. …show more content…
The Giver feels bad about forcing the war memory on Jonas a few days before, and he wants to keep Jonas interested in the memories. So, He decides to give Jonas one of his favorite memories. “Jonas felt the joy of it as soon as the memory began,” (Lowry 122). This is soon after the war memory and Jonas does not want to go on and keep recieving these dreadful memories. When he is given the memory of Christmas, he sees how much joy comes from them and how much better the good memories feel after a bad memories are given. This later on helps Jonas keep going with his training and with his journey. In this way, Lowry proves joy is necessary to live a truly enjoying